Central Railway starts rolling Special ICUs for accident victims

Central Railway starts rolling Special ICUs for accident victims

Mumbai: Train accident victims can expect faster treatment in case of accidents as Central Railway has deployed India’s first Intensive Care Unit on Rails ferry patients to its tertiary care hospital in Mumbai.

The fully -air-conditioned van all the facilities, including medical professionals and equipment, that one needs in the Intensive Care Unit. Member of Parliament Gopal Shetty commissioned this van in service on Moday.

CR’s General Manager S.K.Sood said, “As soon as accident take places, this van will be rushed to the site to shift people fast by rail to tertiary care hospital. It is ambulance on rail but each van being able to accommodate 7 to 8 people.”

The decision to introduce such facility was taken in the after-math of Roha derailment accident on May 4, 2014. Atleast, 22 people had died, mostly because of lack of adequate health care system in the vicinity of the accident site. Patients had to be rushed to Sion Hospital, which is almost 130 km from the Roha. It took more than 3 to 4 hours to reach the hospital, the delay proving fatal to many vicitims.

Sood said, “The van will be deployed ideally to ferry victims who are fall within the limit from 50 to 200 km. We plan to bring all such victims to Railway Hospital in Byculla.”

CR has developed two such van at its Matunga Workshop from the condemned AC coach that had had been pulled out of service. One more coach is also under development taking total number to three in future. These coaches can run at an maximum speed of 140 kmph.

Even relatives of the victims can accompany them in this van. A railway official said, “The ambulance an carry only one patient at a time and that too by road. More patients can be taken care in ICU van. It can be given green signal right through its journey the van is on emergency duty.”

CR has also plans to ferry accident victims by air ambulance but the proposal is yet to be approved by air ambulance.

CR has earmarked spot in its Nirmal Park railway colony at Byculla for landing of air-ambulance The railway colony in Bycualla is adjacent to its Railway hospital.